Friday, December 30, 2011

One of the wildest, mind blowing experiences I ever had was attempting to watch the motion picture The Lion in Winter (1968) for the first time.

It was originally a 1966 play which was made into a motion picture starring Peter O'Toole and Katherine Hepburn. It received three Oscars, including one for Hepburn for Best Actress. From Wikipedia:

Set during Christmas 1183 at Henry II of England's château in Chinon, Anjou, Angevin Empire, the play opens with the arrival of Henry's wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, whom he has had imprisoned since 1173. The story concerns the gamesmanship between Henry, Eleanor, their three surviving sons Richard, Geoffrey, and John, their guest, Philip II of France (the son of Eleanor's ex-husband, Louis VII of France), and Philip's half-sister, Alais, who has been at court since she was betrothed to Richard at age 8, but has since become Henry's mistress.

The Lion In Winter was a classic example of palace intrigue done in hyper mode. There are so many twists and turns that it would be best for one not to root for one character because the character would veer off in another direction and betray your sympathies by revealing themselves to be cold and venomous.

The scene below is a perfect example of this. King Philip (Timothy Dalton) and King Henry are bartering over allegiances and property. Henry outmaneuvers Philip, or so he thinks.

Philip has one trump card he plays - his relationship with Henry's son, Richard. It's a nasty scene. Imagine entering into a gay affair just so that you could use it to hurt the man's father in the future:

Historically, it is not known whether or not Richard (who later became Richard the Lion-Hearted) and Philip had an affair. However, history does hint that Richard have been bisexual at the very least.

Note at the end "Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed." Note also that One News Now used the author's byline (Andrew Welsh-Huggins); the Washington Post article provides his twitter address so I would suggest contacting him directly and pointing out their rewrite. He may not be happy to see how his article has been rewritten. Welsh's email address is awelsh@ap.org. He's also on Facebook.

I think that it's more than appropriate for those of us concerned with how the AFA dehumanizes the gay community to register our disapproval of such tactics. I also think that it's more appropriate to notify other parties who are unfairly being used to further that aim.

The following is my letter:

Dear Mr. Huggins,

I am a reader who wanted to notify you concerning a possible violation of AP policy as it pertains to the reproduction of its articles.

The American Family Association reprinted an article you wrote after giving it a rewrite to push an anti-gay agenda.

This is what you wrote:

Girls seeking abortions in New Hampshire must first tell their parents or a judge, some employers in Alabama must verify new workers' U.S. residency, and California students will be the first in the country to receive mandatory lessons about the contributions of gays and lesbians under state laws set to take effect at the start of 2012.

Girls seeking abortions in New Hampshire must first tell their parents or a judge, employers in Alabama must verify new workers' U.S. residency, and California students will be the first in the country to receive mandatory pro-homosexual indoctrination under state laws set to take effect at the start of 2012.

Not only is the article given a homophobic spin, but your byline remains, making it appear as if you are aware of this breach of objectivity. I sincerely that for the sake of your personal integrity as a journalist and that of the AP as an unbiased new sources that this breach doesn't go unanswered.

Thursday, December 29, 2011

As 2011 comes to a close, it is time yet again count down those special moments in which the religious right and other assorted members of the anti-gay industry made complete asses of themselves on video:

5. Brian Brown gets laughed at on Fox News - In 2011, a curious thing happened to the National Organization for Marriage. As the organization battled against marriage equality in several states - successfully in Maine and unsuccessfully in New York - NOM's leaders seemed be slowly backing away from giving interviews and having debates on news programs.

Now it could be that they were shying away from the press so they didn't have to answer ever growing questions about NOM's finances. But one could also point out the simple fact that as NOM's people gave more interviews and took part in more debates, their argument became less credible.

NOM's president, Brian Brown, emphasized this point. Now in his defense, Brown had a bad year which was accentuated by a picture of him crying when the state of New York passed a marriage equality law and a later video of him pushing a reporter out of a Newt Gingrich fundraiser.

But for my money, Brown's less-than-finest hour came in August when he was debating the issue of marriage equality on Fox News and not only was his points shot down by the host of the program, John Stossel, but also by the audience. Now seriously, if you are a conservative who can't get positive play on Fox News, you might as well quit your gig:

In all honesty though, it was Brown's own fault. He repeated his talking points in a delivery so wooden that he looked less like a so-called defender of marriage and more like a third rate actor auditioning for the sequel to The Stepford Wives. The Stepford Bigots maybe?

4. GLSEN spanks the Family Research Council - In August, the Family Research Council attacked GLSEN (the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network) in a video, claiming that the organization distributed an explicit sex guide to school children in 2005.

But not only was the claim false, it was debunked overa year before FRC made it. So GLSEN sent FRC a cease-and-desist letter from its lawyers saying (and allow me to paraphrase here):

"Look suckers! You are telling a straight up lie and if you don't correct this, we are going to have so many lawyers up your behind that FRC will be funding GLSEN for years to come."

Like any other bully when stood up to, FRC backed down hard, changing the video to the following below:

As you can see, it now tells folks to go to a new video, which is an edited version of the original video.

But while FRC was quick to send out a new version of lies, the organization ignored the Christian tenet of apologizing to those you have wronged. All of this was done silently and without any acknowledgement by FRC of what it had done to GLSEN.

3. Al Franken humiliates Focus on the Family - In July during a Congressional hearing, Senator Al Franken became the idol of many in the lgbtq community when he publicly called out Focus on the Family's Tom Minnery for distorting a study in order to badmouth same-sex households:

Those on the right whined that Franken unfairly attacked Minnery, but who cares what they think. The big take away was that it was the first time that a member of the religious right was publicly caught and dressed down during a Congressional hearing for their common practice of cherry-picking and misrepresenting studies to demonize the lgbtq community.The only reason why this video doesn't rank higher is because it was wasn't Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council who was dressed down. He is long due for the numerous times he has cherry-picked studies.

2. Maggie Gallagher's Thanksgiving insult - In September, Maggie Gallagher stepped down as chairwoman of NOM. She claimed that she wanted to devote time to other projects. I personally think it was because she became such a polarizing figure whose public persona actually worked against her argument. Since that time, Gallagher kept a pretty much low profile. That is until November when she pushed the following video tips on supposedly how to "handle the same-sex debate at Thanksgiving."

To say that Gallagher's video wasn't popular would be an understatement. To say that she created the youtube version of Battlefield Earth and Plan 9 from Outer Space (two motion pictures renowned for how bad they were) would be more to the point.

Some folks have said that her delivery wasn't exactly comforting. Also, Gallagher simply didn't say anything we haven't heard before. If her aim was to tug at hearts, then my guess is that she used how the Snow White's wicked stepmother wanted to tug at her heart as a model.

And forgive for saying so because I am certainly not trying to rag on Gallagher's looks but the way her hair would bob in her face when she made what she thought were emphatic points totally distracted from her message. All the while Gallagher was talking, I kept thinking about that scene in the motion picture Valley of the Dolls when actress Pattie Duke was singing at a telethon and her dancing caused her necklace to bob and weave as if it took a life of its own.

To reiterate, I wasn't attacking Gallagher's physical appearance, only the campy quality of the video. To tell the truth, I rather liked Gallagher's appearance. Her hair was on point, the pearls were fierce, and girlfriend was rocking that faux Chanel suit. However, from what I hear in regards to her salary (and not just with NOM but also with past groups), I doubt that the suit was fake.

This is NOM's second video on the countdown. When both videos are combined, they make a point about the organization. Brown's video demonstrates why NOM will lose in the end. The points he made about marriage are false, coming from a boardroom rather than any place of truth. Gallagher's video reveals why the organization is having success in some places even though its argument is below weak.

Someone is funding NOM, majorly. We don't know yet. But sooner or later, the truth will come out.

1. Poor Rick Perry - Maggie Gallagher's Thanksgiving monstrosity would have been number one if it weren't for Rick Perry.

Poor Rick Perry. At one time, the long-time Texas Governor was seen as the conservative savior, i.e the one who could defeat Obama in 2012. However after a series of gaffes, Perry was seen as less of a political genius and more of a beneficiary of Texas complacency.

Then came the following video in which Perry tried to regain his footing by pulling the "prayer in schools" and anti-gay cards at the same time:

The sad thing is that a while back, an ad like this would have probably gone over big. But unfortunately for Perry, the ad did the opposite.

This video didn't just yell "desperate." It screamed it with the volume of a virgin in the middle of his first orgasmic experience. And I won't even mention his Brokeback Mountain jacket.

FRC Hosts Michael Brown to 'Explain the Homosexual Agenda'- Hold on to your hoolahoops. We have YET ANOTHER phony anti-gay expert on the horizon. And he will be making his presence known in North Carolina also. Long story short - Michael Brown is a grandstanding so-and-so who wants his piece of the anti-gay pie of notoriety. Like so many others, he pushes the same lies about our community, including how we are "plotting" to take over America. So many nuts, so many lies.

Watching Jamaica - Thank you Box Turtle Bulletin for reminding us to keep an eye our for our brothers and sisters in Jamaica.

The American Family Association's One News Now is known for being a fraudulent news sources by often creating a story around the erroneous comments of anti-gay leaders or telling only one side of an incident (making sure to make the gay community look at fault).

But the audacity goes even farther. One News Now has on occasion been inaccurately manipulating AP articles to put the gay community in a negative light:

Girls seeking abortions in New Hampshire must first tell their parents or a judge, some employers in Alabama must verify new workers' U.S. residency, and California students will be the first in the country to receive mandatory lessons about the contributions of gays and lesbians under state laws set to take effect at the start of 2012.

. . . A California law will add gays and lesbians and people with disabilities to the list of social and ethnic groups whose contributions must be taught in history lessons in public schools. The law also bans teaching materials that reflect poorly on gays or particular religions.

Girls seeking abortions in New Hampshire must first tell their parents or a judge, employers in Alabama must verify new workers' U.S. residency, and California students will be the first in the country to receive mandatory pro-homosexual indoctrination under state laws set to take effect at the start of 2012.

. . . Also in California, a new law will add homosexuals to the list of social and ethnic groups whose contributions must be taught in history lessons in public schools.

One News Now - and the AFA in general - does seem to have a goal in mind. But it's obvious that this goal does not entail correctly informing or educating its readers.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

I do a lot of talking about the need to focus on issues and interests of the lgbtq community of color.

Now, I want to back up all of my talk by focusing on an outstanding movie, Pariah:

A world premiere at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, the contemporary drama Pariah is the feature-length expansion of writer/director Dee Rees’ award-winning 2007 short film Pariah. Spike Lee is among the feature’s executive producers. At Sundance, cinematographer Bradford Young was honored with the [U.S. Dramatic Competition] Excellence in Cinematography Award.

Adepero Oduye, who had earlier starred in the short film, portrays Alike (pronounced ah-lee-kay), a 17-year-old African-American woman who lives with her parents Audrey and Arthur (Kim Wayans and Charles Parnell) and younger sister Sharonda (Sahra Mellesse) in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene neighborhood. She has a flair for poetry, and is a good student at her local high school.

Alike is quietly but firmly embracing her identity as a lesbian. With the sometimes boisterous support of her best friend, out lesbian Laura (Pernell Walker), Alike is especially eager to find a girlfriend. At home, her parents’ marriage is strained and there is further tension in the household whenever Alike’s development becomes a topic of discussion. Pressed by her mother into making the acquaintance of a colleague’s daughter, Bina (Aasha Davis), Alike finds Bina to be unexpectedly refreshing to socialize with.

Wondering how much she can confide in her family, Alike strives to get through adolescence with grace, humor, and tenacity – sometimes succeeding, sometimes not, but always moving forward.

The “truth” is that AIDS is an “elective” disease.It STOPS the day guys quit sticking it to each other.And for the tragedy of women and children infected…THAT stops the day their gay husbands and fathers stop cheating on them.Anyone need MORE education, science or funding to understand THAT?

The civil rights issue of our time is gay marriage, and the key players in our country's most significant civil rights movement are on the wrong side of it. The black church has taken on a new role: oppressor.

The U.S. House has passed a resolution that calls on the government of Turkey to end repression of the remnants of ancient Christian and pre-Christian civilizations and return the property taken from them.

House Resolution 306, spearheaded by Representative Ed Royce (R-California) and Howard Berman (D-California), was recently passed by a huge majority, calling on the State Department to raise the issue. Aram Hamparian of the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) tells OneNewsNow the persecution has been going on for many centuries.

. . . The more serious persecution occurred early last century.

"They were largely seized during the period of the Armenian genocide, which started in 1915, which was an effort to wipe out the entire Christian population of the Ottoman Empire. And it very nearly succeeded in doing that," the ANCA executive director laments. "Armenians and Syrians, Greeks, Pontians and others represented over two million of the citizens of the Ottoman Empire, and today they represent less than one percent."

About a million and a half people were killed, and now only a handful of churches exist, compared to thousands that were in Turkey prior to the alleged genocide. Turkey denies the latter and has lashed out at the House for passing the resolution.

Speaking out against persecution and genocide are good things for any person or any nation to do.

However, One News Now isn't exactly consistent with this stance. Earlier this month, the publication featured an article raising holy hell when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke out against anti-gay persecution which is presently taking place in foreign countries:

The Obama administration has announced it will begin considering how countries treat homosexual citizens when determining allocations of foreign aid. The Associated Press reports it is the first U.S. government strategy that deals with "human rights abuses against gays and lesbians abroad." Speaking in Geneva, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said "Gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights." Sitting among her audience were representatives from several nations where homosexuality is considered immoral.

The announced policy, according to Matt Barber of Liberty Counsel Action, "displays the arrogance of the Obama administration."

It is "frankly offensive," says the attorney, that President Obama "feels compelled to export American culture's decline in morality, and export that immorality to other nations that are trying to adhere to traditional principles relative to human sexuality."

Barber also notes that the administration is apparently ignoring the fact that foreign nations -- like the United States -- are sovereign countries. He adds that the U.S. is "using essentially blackmail and the purse strings" of the nation to force countries to change their moral principles.

Someone should ask One News Now - and the author of both articles, Charlie Butts - just what is the difference between anti-Christian and anti-gay persecution.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

According to today's issue of North Carolina's Charlotte Observer, one of the proponents of the upcoming referendum to outlaw marriage equality in the state, Rev. Mark Harris, the head of the state's Baptist Convention, wants a "civil debate" over the issue:

"But I hope we can express our positions - keep the conversation to the facts and our principles - and do it in a civil way," Harris, 45, said. "It doesn't mean I'm going to change someone else's position or they're going to change mine. "But in America, we all ought to be able to express ourselves without things getting out of hand."

Now generally when those against marriage equality claim that they want a "civil debate," the lgbtq community and our allies bristle because we know that in the past when these folks call for "calm" and "rationality," it's usually before they pull out all sorts of sundry claims about the gay community.

But I believe Harris when he says he wants a civil debate. However, I also believe that this issue has gone way past out of hand and a perfect example of this is the image below:

This is the actual graphic that the North Carolina Family Policy Council, the leading anti-equality group in the Tar Heel State, is running in its quarterly publication in order to scare citizens into voting for the state's proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

Friday, December 23, 2011

Recently, Saturday Night Live got into trouble for a very crass skit which made fun of the transgender community.

The real shame of the entire controversy was the fact that in the past when the comedy sketch show parodied the lgbtq community, the skits were not only hilarious but made astute mockery of the social values at the time.

Such at the classic commercial above, Schmitts Gay, which poked fun at beer commercials featuring a heavy duty emphasis on half naked women.

This month, thousands of families submitted photos, joining Zach and his family in sending out this simple holiday greeting.....and creating this video and online campaign called "Love Makes a Family."

Thursday, December 22, 2011

It would appear - and this is speculation on my part - that the National Organization for Marriage is trying to pull a public relations trick under all of our eyes.

First we learned about NOM's tax return from 2010. On Dec. 12, The Washington Independent published an article pointing out, amongst other things, that:

. . . just two individuals contributed more than $6 million to the organization’s political arm – accounting for about two-thirds of NOM’s 2010 revenue, while single donations below $5,000 covered only 8 percent of reported revenue.

Increasingly virulent and frequent attacks from the same-sex marriage lobby have depleted our emergency funds, and we need your help!

As 2011 draws to a close, everyone at the National Organization for Marriage is excited about the election year ahead, which we believe will be full of huge victories for traditional marriage.

But unless we raise additional funds quickly, we will be faced with hard decisions about where to begin scaling back our efforts for next year. NOM does not have the resources to accomplish everything we need to do...and with the many new and critical marriage battles upcoming in 2012, this is the exact wrong time for us to have to scale back.

One of our most generous donors has offered to MATCH—dollar for dollar—every single gift we receive between now and New Year's Day, all the way up to one million dollars!

On the heels of that post comes this announcement - on Dec. 22 - of the alleged success of that campaign. NOM is well on the road to raise $1 million in an amazingly short amount of time:

I might point out that the comments section of the Dec. 20 post announcing the campaign is empty. No "you all do important work so I am going to send in this amount" or "I'm not sending any of you a penny." No one was voicing an opinion either way.

Also, the Dec. 20 post was neither favorited nor was it twittered out. If NOM's request for funds went viral, you certainly couldn't tell.

Small guess what the next announcement coming from NOM's president Brian Brown will be - something huge and elaborate trumpeting about how "so many people felt that NOM's work was important that they dug deep in their pockets to help the organization."

I wouldn't be surprised if Brown would conveniently receive a letter from an anonymous donor which he will release on the blog. And I wouldn't be surprised if that donor said something like "he/she never gave to any organization before" or "he/she is a liberal but feel that gays are going too far."

Bottom line - When I read about NOM's initial plea for money a while back, I smelled a rat. And it's the same stink I smell when it comes to this campaign.

How much does anyone want to bet that NOM had that million all of the time (probably due to that small cartel of big time donors) and is trying to pass it off as a spontaneous donation from its so-called "numerous followers" who appreciate NOM's work.

Based upon NOM's past attempts to pull the wool over people's eyes, nothing would surprise me.

In case you haven't noticed, there is a controversy brewing concerning an upcoming ABC sitcom called "Work It."

"Work It" tells of two unemployed men so desperate that they dress as women to get jobs. Some members of the lgbtq community have called the show offensive to the transgender community.

The Human Rights Campaign and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation have both joined together in denouncing the show. GLAAD has even come out with a full page ad denouncing the show.

Now many have talked about it but very few have actually seen the show. So below is the promo. What do you think?

Personally I found the show to be in poor taste and simply not funny. Don't get me wrong. Men impersonating women (or women impersonating men) isn't necessarily an offensive subject for comedy in and by itself. Two Academy Award winning movies, Some Like It Hot and Tootsie, come to mind.

But sometimes when an entertainment piece is walking a fine line between uproariously funny and downright offensive, things like script-writing, three-dimensional characterizations are important.

This is where this show fails big time. The characters are one-dimensional and from what I see, the storyline is even poor.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Today on Fox News, presidential candidate Rick Santorum (no friend to the lgbtq community) talked about how he would attempt to appeal to gay voters:

"Well, look, I have nothing against gay people. They have rights of every other citizen. But what they did in Iowa and what some are trying to do -- not all gays -- but some are trying to do is change the laws of this country with respect to what the definition of marriage is," Santorum said. "We have a public policy disagreement. I know there are a lot of gays who are strong on national security and believe in lower taxes and getting this economy moving, and welcome them to join our campaign."

. . . "Well, you know -- you know, we can have a public policy discussion that says that, you know, certain things -- our laws should be certain ways without seeing it as a personal attack. It's not a personal attack. It's what we believe is best for the country," he responded. "And I believe what's best for the country is to give children their birthright, which is the best opportunity for them to have a mother and a father. ... There are a lot of other important relationships, and I don't dismiss other relationships as important. But there's one essential relationship that's necessary to give children their birthright."

Now I could wax philosophically about why the host of the program, Greta Van Susteren, didn't press Santorum on the reality of same-sex families.

But then I can guess why she didn't. After all, it is Fox News and girlfriend likes that big salary.

However, Santorum's omission of the reality of same-sex families is a problem which needs to be mentioned.

Why do folks like Santorum - those who call themselves Christians, evangelicals, or whatever - seem to always refuse to acknowledge the fact that same-sex families exist and that these families are raising children?

Sure they will talk about how the "social science" says that the best place for a child is a home with a mother and a father. And of course when they say that, none of these so-called reputable journalists with their gigantic salaries will question them on whether or not these studies ever compared same-sex households to opposite-parents households - because these studies generally don't.

And none of these big-named journalist will question folks like Santorum on the existence of single-parent households.

They just let them talk and let them set the phony narrative that somehow same-sex households with children simply don't exist when in fact there are millions of them in this country.

Santorum's need to omit these homes says a lot about his Christian character than any speech he can make.

Or lack thereof.

In short, the gay community is not stupid. We know that Santorum has an aversion to us and our families. We know that he doesn't like us and because of that, we just don't like him.

Put succinctly, “Gays and Lesbians have a right to live as they choose, they don’t have the right to redefine marriage for all of us."

Now we all from which out-of-town group that phrase comes from. And of course Warcholik conveniently omits how this same group stole photos from Obama rallies to fake support for its phony efforts to repeal marriage equality in NH. Meanwhile, other members of the anti-marriage equality crowd are attacking same-sex families. It's ugly.

. . . The student, Jennifer Keeton, argues that her religiously motivated beliefs are being challenged by Augusta State's policies -- and that a public university may not do so. Keeton was expelled when she declined to participate in the remediation plan, and she asked a federal district court and the appeals court to order her reinstatement in the program.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit found that Augusta State had legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons to enforce its rules. The counseling program's accreditation depended in part on adhering to a code of conduct, and faculty members believed it was their responsibility to train students to work with a wide range of clients, the court found. The decision placed the counseling department's actions at Augusta State in the broader context of faculty members training professionals who must pay attention to the ethics of various fields.

Keeton has initially sued the university last year and lost. In ruling for that decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals was very direct in speaking against Keeton's efforts.

Monday, December 19, 2011

Chuck Norris is an action movie star - and a bad one. But he should stay that way. His forays into politics reveal his basic ignorance.

He has penned a piece for the American Family Association whining about how the Obama Administration has declared war on religion. Personally I don't think he wrote it. I think someone else wrote it and he attached his name to it because it reads like the usual religious right hogwash.

Here is why the two items caught my eye. The first item is a basic lie. And that can be easily be proven by the link contained in the item. The Washington Post article which it links to clearly says:

The Pentagon will permit military chaplains to perform same-sex marriage as long as such ceremonies are not prohibited in the states where they reside, it said Friday.

Defense Department guidance issued to military chaplains said they may participate in ceremonies on or off military bases in states that recognize gay unions. Chaplains are not required to officiate at same-sex weddings if doing so is counter to their religious or personal beliefs, the guidance said.

The second claim I illuminated is important because it illustrates the fraud that Chuck Norris is exposing himself to be:

Secretary Clinton was not demonizing religious beliefs. She was calling attention to the fact that in some foreign countries, lgbtqs persecuted by ways of beatings, vicious murders, forced rapes, and forced reparative therapy:

Today, I want to talk about the work we have left to do to protect one group of people whose human rights are still denied in too many parts of the world today. In many ways, they are an invisible minority. They are arrested, beaten, terrorized, even executed. Many are treated with contempt and violence by their fellow citizens while authorities empowered to protect them look the other way or, too often, even join in the abuse. They are denied opportunities to work and learn, driven from their homes and countries, and forced to suppress or deny who they are to protect themselves from harm.

Chuck Norris considers himself an action hero. He has starred in many motion pictures and a television show (Walker, Texas Ranger) portraying himself as someone who fights against injustice. As such, Norris has been shown fictionally preventing innocent people from beaten, killed, or generally terrorized.

The answer is clear. Chuck Norris is a liar and a fraud. His persona is nothing much than phony macho bravado.

Chuck Norris can't stand up to injustice because he simply doesn't know what real injustice is. The only type of injustice he knows belongs on a soundstage. It begins when the director says "action" and ends when the same director yells "cut."

Somehow, because of all of the years in this phony world, Norris sees himself as an actual heroic figure.

A little advice, Chuck. Stay in the land of make-believe. In real-life, you just don't measure up to your image.

This week, the Thomas More Law Center, a conservative Christian legal foundation, filed suit in federal court on behalf of Sandra Glowacki, a Catholic, who claims that the Howell Public School District in Howell, Mich., and teacher Johnson “Jay” McDowell violated the constitutional rights of her son, 16-year-old Daniel Glowacki, when McDowell kicked him out of class on Oct. 20, 2010 — when the school district was observing anti-bullying day and Spirit Day — because Daniel Glowacki told McDowell that as a Catholic, his religion prevented him from supporting gay rights.

The lawsuit claims that McDowell wore a “Tyler’s Army” T-shirt that day in memory of gay college student Tyler Clementi, who had committed suicide after being bullied, and that McDowell had used his class all day to “promote homosexuality.” The lawsuit says McDowell had told a female student to remove a Confederate flag belt buckle because he was offended by it. Then when Daniel Glowacki asked why it was OK to display a rainbow flag promoting LGBT rights, McDowell asked whether Glowacki supported gay rights. When Glowacki said his religion prohibited him from doing so, McDowell made him and another student with similar views leave the class.

McDowell was suspended for violating school district policy, but the suspension was later lifted to settle the grievance complaint Johnson filed.

The Dallas Voice is quick to point out the resemblance of this case to the one of Dakota Ary. A few months ago, a student in a Texas school, Dakota Ary, claimed that he was suspended for merely saying that homosexuality was a sin. However, after the unfortunate media blitz done by Ary's mother and the Liberty Counsel - the group hired by her, it was discovered that perhaps Ary's version of the story was not necessarily true. There were questions whether Ary and a few students were harassing the teacher long before the incident.

Based upon that case and so many other incidents in which religious right groups haven't been forthcoming on details, I reserve the right to not necessarily believe this young man's version of the story. And I have a few questions:

1. What were the exact words said in the conversation which led Glowacki to be kicked out of class.

2.Why was the other student kicked out of class with Glowacki?

3. The teacher was reprimanded for kicked Glowacki out of class, but the reprimand was lifted. Why? He was also suspended for one day because of the incident, but was reimbursed for those wages. Again, why?

And here is something that's interesting. This is what the lawsuit says:

The lawsuit also alleges that the Howell district, in cooperation with teacher unions, “indoctrinates students to believe that homosexuality is normal and … that religious opposition … is harassment, bullying, hate speech and homophobic.”

It sounds like to me that the Thomas More Center is exploiting this one incident to attack and maybe eliminate whatever "gay-friendly" policy this school may have.

Whatever the case may be, count on seeing another right-wing media blitz. Only this time, I hope people reserve judgement until the entire story comes out.

Friday, December 16, 2011

When young black gay artist Perry (Anthony Mackie, The Hurt Locker) is discovered in an intimate sexual encounter with another young man, he is promptly thrown out of his house. With the added confusion of a potential love interest from his white classmate, Perry is at a loss. Things change when a chance encounter with famous poet Bruce Nugent introduces Perry to a historical journey into the gay and lesbian subcultures of the Harlem Renaissance and 'Niggeratti Manor', the creative centre for rebellious black artists Zora Neale Hurston (Aunjanue Ellis, Ray) and Langston Hughes (Daniel Sunjata, TV's Rescue Me). As Perry learns more about the past struggles experienced by those of a different colour and sexuality, he comes to respect what makes him different, and embrace a history that is rarely told.

Saint Paul and Minneapolis Archbishop John Nienstedt has just posted a letter offering the following prayer:

Heavenly Father,

Through the powerful intercession of the Holy Family, grant to this local Church the many graces we need to foster, strengthen, and support faith-filled, holy marriages and holy families.

May the vocation of married life, a true calling to share in your own divine and creative life, be recognized by all believers as a source of blessing and joy, and a revelation of your own divine goodness.

Grant to us all the gift of courage to proclaim and defend your plan for marriage, which is the union of one man and one woman in a lifelong, exclusive relationship of loving trust, compassion, and generosity, open to the conception of children.

We make our prayer through Jesus Christ, who is Lord forever and ever. Amen.

It is worth noting that Minnesota is in the middle of a ballot campaign over marriage equality and this move by Nienstedt is the latest in what seems to be a crusade of the Minnesota Catholic bishops to interject themselves into a political battle.

This isn’t the first time that Minnesota’s Catholic bishops have specifically encouraged their priests and congregants to use parish time, facilities, and resources to push for the passage of the state’s proposed ban on same-sex marriage. In September 2010, the bishops produced and mailed a DVD attacking marriage equality to all registered Catholic households. And in another letter this fall, Nienstedt directed parish priests to form committees in their churches devoted “…to educat[ing] the faithful about the church’s teachings on [marriage], and to vigorously organiz[ing] and support[ing] a grass-roots effort to get out the vote to support the passage of this amendment.” The Archbishop called it “imperative that we marshal our resources” in this fight.

What can be seen as bothersome about this is that Nienstedt is specifically pushing this prayer as a political maneuver rather than one of spiritual faith. He clearly states the following:

To help assist in the strengthening of our state-wide efforts to defend marriage in our civil constitution, I am pleased to offer to your community of faith the enclosed prayer. Copies may be ordered through the Office of Worship, and are meant for use within the Holy Mass as part of the Prayer of the Faithful. In addition, I would encourage the posting of the prayer within Eucharistic Adoration chapels, along with an encouragement to adorers to pray for the success of the amendment and all efforts to strengthen marriage.

Regardless of what one feels about marriage equality or the Catholic faith, the interjection of a prayer designed to politically motivate people rather than speak to their hearts has be troubling.

Truth Wins Out says the following:

There is absolutely no defense on any level for this kind of malicious, disgusting hatred. Nienstedt’s text is anything but a “prayer,” but instead is an overt attempt to cloak a set of anti-gay political talking points with the mantle of faith. The Archbishop even stoops so low as to use the Eucharist, which is sacred to LGBT and non-LGBT Catholics alike, as a weapon in the fight to exclude loving same-sex couples from marriage in Minnesota.

There is a reason why Peter Sprigg and Tony Perkins of the Family Resewarch Council deliberately avoids debates on gay issues in spite of their insistence that they do want to debate. The following video demonstrates why:

Granted, the religious right spokesperson, Candi Cushman of Focus on the Family, did alright here. But she was clearly called out:

Thursday, December 15, 2011

No special or long winded comment necessary. While we may not be knowledgeable of the particulars in this household, we can be rest assured that the following is probably what happens in many homes where same-sex parents have raised children.

Now can any of those so-called family experts who rag on same-sex families tell me just what is wrong with this? I'm talking to you, Maggie, Brian, Tony, Peter, or any of you other so-called Christian folks:

Cindy Asmussen of Concerned Women for America’s Central Texas chapter wants you to know that she is really upset over the so-called plots of the gay community.

First, she joins the Liberty Counsel in spinning lies about the former Macy's employee who was fired for violating store policy while harassing a transgender customer.

The Macy's store in San Antonio, Texas, fired Natalie Johnson after she noticed a cross-dressing man wearing lipstick coming out of the women's dressing room; she politely told him the rooms were for women only. The man, and several friends who were with him, began shouting profanities at Natalie and demanded to speak with her supervisor. After the management of the store assured the man that Macy's was indeed a LGBT friendly store and transgender men could use the women's dressing rooms, the supervisor then summoned Natalie into an office where she was forced to choose between upholding the company policy or job termination. Natalie chose to defend her values and the belief that it is a dangerous precedent to allow men to change in a women's dressing room also used by young girls. For that, she was fired.

So many lies. First of all, the customer was not a man. The customer was a transgender teenager. Secondly, please note the careful but very inaccurate semantics which Asmussen uses:

Natalie chose to defend her values and the belief that it is a dangerous precedent to allow men to change in a women's dressing room also used by young girls.

Asmussen is continuing to push the highly inaccurate idea that Macy's policy will allow men to barge into dressing rooms and rape little girls. This is a lie constructed to exploit fears and ignorance about Macy's policy and the transgender community - a very un-Christian thing to do.

On December 6 at the United Nations, Hillary Clinton championed LGBT "rights." She claimed that members of the LGBT community are born that way, and it is something they cannot change. We know from all of the facts and testimonies of those who have come out of LGBT lifestyles that this is simply a lie. They can and do change all of the time. It is a behavior and a choice, and this is why there are several nationwide ministries helping those who want to be free from this lifestyle.

Asmussen finally goes off of the deep end with the silly "gays want to persecute Christians" angle and manages to really space out:

Yet despite that, LGBT activists want to alter OUR lifestyles by intimidating us into accepting what we know is not of God, by trying to inhibit our free speech rights and abilities to speak out against it, and by forcing us to use the same dressing rooms (and, in many cases, bathrooms) with the opposite sex.

So in Asmussen's world, going against your employer's policy and harassing customers, forced rape and tortures are Christian virtues and gays are secretly plotting to make her sit in a bathroom stall next to a man.

Sometimes it's so difficult to put into words just how ridiculous these people are. Luckily for me, they manage to put those words out themselves. All I have to do is put a spotlight on them.

Editor's note - one useful thing this silly woman did was to put out exact information to the higher-ups at Macy's. Write or email to these folks and thank them for standing up for the lgbt community, particularly our children. And tell them not to back down in the face of lies:

Macy's President, Terry Lundgren, at macys_execs@macys.com or call the headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio, at 513-579-7000. You could also call Jim Sluzewski, Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications, at 513-579-7764; or Julie Strider, of Macy's Media Relations, at 646-429-5213.

About Me

Alvin McEwen is 46-year-old African-American gay man who resides in Columbia, SC.
McEwen's blog, Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters, and writings have been mentioned by Americablog.com, Goodasyou.org, People for the American Way, PageOneQ.com, The Washington Post, Raw Story, The Advocate, Media Matters for America, Crooksandliars.com, Thinkprogress.org, Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish, Melissa Harris-Perry, The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell, Newsweek, The Daily Beast, The Washington Blade, and Foxnews.com.
In addition, he is also a past contributor to Pam's House Blend,Justice For All, LGBTQ Nation, and Alternet.org. He is a present contributor to the Daily Kos and the Huffington Post,
He is the 2007 recipient of the Harriet Daniels Hancock Volunteer of the Year Award and the 2010 recipient of the Order of the Pink Palmetto from the SC Pride Movement as well as the 2009 recipient of the Audre Lorde/James Baldwin Civil Rights Activist Award from SC Black Pride. In addition, he is a three-time nominee of the Ed Madden Media Advocacy Award from SC Pride.